Hello,

 

At present I have a VW Tiguan with the factory MDI interface.  When driving around I often listen to podcasts which play back from a iPad Classic hidden away in the centre console.  As the car stops and starts, so do the podcasts which I update every week or two.

 

I am looking at buying a Octavia with factory Sat Nav (big screen Columbus) which also has a MDI port which is located in the front of the centre console above the "button bar".  It does not appear to allow a stealthy connection (and I don't fancy disconnecting the wiring every time I park the car).

 

So, my query relates to replicating what I have now.  Is there any way to connect and hide a iPod so it is permanently connected ?  Otherwise I guess I could go to using a iPod with a Bluetooth connection but then there seems no way to charge it ?

 

I have a iPhone too but would prefer not to rely on that for podcast storage for various reasons...

 

Suggestions and clarification would be appreciated !

 

Thanks in advance...

In the UK atleast, I dont think you can spec the Columbus with MDI, only USB, but the USB has the same functions as the MDI when used with the Columbus - or so i am lead to believe.

I wish there was a nice way to plug in and hide the USB cable so i could charge my phone and leave it there if i'm just going to the shops or something and not worry about it being on show.

You can put it in the cubby hole infront of the gear stick, which has a sliding cover, but that does leave the lead sticking out, and i cant find a suitable place to bring the cable through the back of the console to hide it either.

Once thing you could do, is use an SD card to store your podcasts on. Columbus has 2 SD card sockets, which have been tested to accept up to 128GB each, so that should be plenty of storage space

I had thought of the SD card slot but that means manually copying over the data instead of just using iTunes to sync the iPod (and not having the playback data such as which podcasts had been played).  Unless there is a better option, using a SD card may be preferable to having cables and devices left on display...

Somebody here has routed their iPod cable to the glovebox.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/305187-ipod-in-glovebox/#entry3650349

Hello, i've just replaced a VW Touran which had Mdi in the centre armrest and had a ipod classic connected using it exactly the same as you. I now have a 1.6Tdi Elegance Estate with Columbus and Canton. There is only Usb and Aux input and i have my i pod classic placed in the phone compartment connected by a usb black cable that is very discreet. I'm looking in to hiding the cable altogether but using a black cable instead of a white one makes it not so obvious.

As for playing podcasts, it works in the same way as the Vdub. Music,podcasts and films all resume from where you stopped it.  

One snag i have is for some reason the sound levels ( bass and volume ) are all over the place, they were smoothed out on the touran. I don't know whether this is to do with the usb connection instead of Mdi? I do have the 'sound check' on the ipod switched on, this is supposed to level the sound. Hope this helps...

Somebody here has routed their iPod cable to the glovebox.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/305187-ipod-in-glovebox/#entry3650349

 

Hmmm, sounds somewhat painful to do but buying a black cable and routing it into the glovebox would seem to be the best solution those who want a stealthy connection...